Men and women of the modern era in Orihuela faced ailment
and diseases whose causes were unknown. This situation led
them to seek remedies in unscientific methods. This was the
esoteric world handled by characters ... [+]

Men and women of the modern era in Orihuela faced ailment
and diseases whose causes were unknown. This situation led
them to seek remedies in unscientific methods. This was the
esoteric world handled by characters with “special” powers
and mysterious solutions. Orihuela, during the sixteenth and
seventeenth centuries, had people —such as “oracioneros”
spell casters, spiritual healers— able to cure what doctors
and surgeons did not know. People went to them either
by faith or by lack of alternatives; therefore the municipal government had to encourage their installation in the city. This
article explores how these “skills”, bordering on the occult,
the mysterious and even the forbidden were performed and
how people’s minds react, always prone to believe in hidden
causes and in healers with special powers. [-]